A gay dad has lost his legal battle to
gain full custody of his children.

Cindy Close and her friend Marvin
McMurray agreed to have a child together using his sperm and donated
eggs. She became pregnant through in vitro fertilization.

After the twins were born in July,
Close claims that McMurray informed her that he's gay and demanded
custody of the children. McMurray said Close shouldn't have any
parental rights because the children are not genetically hers.

The legal fight which ensued included
Close alleging that she was duped into having children with McMurray.

A Houston judge ruled in Close's favor,
declaring her the legal mother, not just a surrogate.

“I had always known I was the mom,
but to have the court validate that, I was almost over the moon
definitely,” Close told ABC affiliate KTRK.

Speaking on CNN, David Mattingly said
the former friends “did not follow the rules.”

“She is not the biological mother but
she did give birth to these children and Texas law may have been on
her side here, because the law is fairly explicit when it comes to
surrogacy issues,” Mattingly said. “It says that the intended
parents of the child or children have to be married. There was no
marriage in this case. Also there has to be a surrogacy agreement
that has to be approved by the court ahead of time. There was
nothing written down here.”